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A New Leaf Materialism Essay

1096 Words5 Pages

Have you ever felt used or stuck in a relationship? Addicted to loving someone or something? Have you ever seen a person completely change who they are? In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “A New Leaf,” the author explores several themes, including social class, addiction, and change. Told through a third-person limited point of view, the antagonist Dick Ragland, a wealthy man who has wasted his fortune on senseless pursuits, and Julia Ross the protagonist, the lover girl of Dick Ragland, Fitzgerald demonstrates the dangers of living a life driven solely by materialism. In “A New Leaf”, F. Scott Fitzgerald tastefully explores the complexities of social class, addiction to love and alcohol, and the changes in people and values. Through the …show more content…

Dick Ragland, the antagonist, comes from a wealthy family, but he has spent his inheritance on drinking, partying, and other wrongdoings. He finds himself under serious financial strain and is forced to marry Julia Ross, a woman from a wealthy family, to maintain his lifestyle. However, he quickly realizes that he has married into a family with a dark past and a questionable source of wealth. When Dick tries to adapt to his new life, he becomes extremely aware of the class differences between himself and his wife’s family. He feels like an outsider and struggles to fit in with the upper-class society that his wife and her family are a part of since he threw his wealth away on alcohol. Fitzgerald uses Dick Ragland to show the shallow nature of social class differences. Despite his wealth, he is unhappy and unfulfilled, and his attempts to fit in with his wife’s family only prove these feelings of discomfort. He realizes that material possessions and social status are not the keys to happiness, and that true fulfillment comes from living a life that is meaningful and purposeful. "I only love you, Julia…you’re all that I have,” (Fitzgerald, 1931) Dick comes to realize that Julia is the sole purpose in his life and that he messed their relationship up by choosing the wrong decisions at the wrong times. Dick would choose to go with his addictions rather than the love of his …show more content…

Mr. Ragland is addicted to the lifestyle that his wealth affords him. He is used to living a life of excess and satisfaction, and he is unable to break free from his destructive habits. Even when he realizes that he is in financial trouble, he continues to spend money recklessly on alcohol, unable to face the reality of his situation. “About the time I came into some money I found that with a few drinks, I got extensive and somehow could please people…” (Fitzgerald, 1931) Dick abused the money that he had to buy alcohol to fill his obsession with drinking and pleasing people. This addiction to material possessions and pleasure soon leads him to marry Julia, a decision that they both later regret. Fitzgerald portrays addiction as a powerful force that can control and manipulate individuals. Through Dick’s character, Fitzgerald demonstrates how addiction can blind people to their faults and prevent them from making positive changes in their lives. “I suppose there's not much use apologizing for this morning. I didn't know what I was doing, but that's no excuse…” (Fitzgerald, 1931) Dick was so caught up with himself that he couldn’t look past himself for others to see how badly he affected them. However, the story also suggests that it is possible to overcome addiction and make positive changes. Dick Ragland eventually realizes that he needs to change his lifestyle to find happiness, and he makes the difficult decision

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The Moral Decay of the Materialistic Although F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby debuted in 1925– before the Great Depression– it serves as a prophetic exemplification of the the material excess of the 1920s that drowned out signs of the coming Great Depression. The book’s plot follows the bootlegger Jay Gatsby as he pursues his old love Daisy Buchanan through flaunting his new extravagant lifestyle, mainly by throwing ostentatious parties. Yet, in the end, Daisy chooses her unfaithful husband Tom over Gatsby. Through Fitzgerald’s use of wealthy, materialistic characters, he comments on the effect of the material excess of the roaring twenties: moral corruption.

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Everyone has fantasized about being rich and all the luxury that comes with it. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing of “The Great Gatsby” suggests how money ruins the lives of many. It ruins those who possess it and those who don’t. Fitzgerald explains through Myrtle Wilson, Jay Gatsby, and Daisy Buchanan that money and materialism causes us to lose sight of our values and what is truly important. Myrtle Wilson is very desperate to leave the Valley of Ashes.

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It has long been said that money can’t buy happiness, but still people continue to use it’s acquisition to try to make themselves happy. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the title character struggles with this realization. The book is set in New York during the ‘Roaring 20’s’, a time famous for its parties and lavishness. The book examines the attitudes toward money within the upper particularly through the lense of the new-money title character, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby dedicated his life to the acquisition of money with the goal of eventually acquiring the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan.

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Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to show the corruptness that money and power can bring upon not just an individual, but an entire class of society. The divide between the upper class of “Old Money” and

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I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one say when he was out…” (Fitzgerald, 37), As Myrtle represents the society of the Roaring Twenties as she is very materialistic much like the rest of the society who appears to think that money will always give them happiness. Society at this time seems to be so corrupted by the American Dream that they seem to not be able to appreciate what they have much like Myrtle who likes Tom because he can provide her with materialistic goods which make her happy. This shows how the Society is blinded by the American Dream they want for material goods that they fiend for expensive cars and

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Francis Scott Fitzgerald, a highly renowned author of the 1920s, collects a series of observations made by protagonist Nick Carraway in his authentic novel “The Great Gatsby”. FItzgerald’s sophisticated writing recounts the story of Nick Carraway’s experience as an outsider of a highly sophisticated social class, where a series of affairs and assassinations end up in a tragic and broken love story. By writing about the events that characterized the society of the “roaring 20s”, the author lionizes the decline of a righteous moral sense and spirituality, the deterioration of a person’s decency, as well as the trivialization of the American Dream, through the use of symbolism. Fitzgerald opens his novel by analyzing how the human nature presents

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In “The Great Gatsby” Fitzgerald presents editorial on an assortment of topics, — equity, control, insatiability, treachery, the American dream. Of the considerable number of subjects, maybe none is more all around created than that of social stratification. The Great Gatsby is viewed as a splendid bit of social discourse, offering a clear look into American life in the 1920s. Fitzgerald deliberately sets up his novel into particular gatherings in any case, at last, each gathering has its own issues to battle with, leaving an effective indication of what a problematic place the world truly is. By making unmistakable social classes — old cash, new cash, and no cash — Fitzgerald sends solid messages about the elitism running all through each stratum of society.

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Throughout the novel, we are able to see how the lives of all these characters revolve around wealth, power, and social acceptance. Fitzgerald struggles to prove that even though love seems to be there,

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He considers money is capable of corrupting even the most innocent of people, who were living in peace and tranquility. Fitzgerald paints a picture of the greed that infects our world to this day. He addresses the problem with the rich which is still a relevant problem today. Fitzgerald represents the social elite as

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Fitzgerald brings attention to the extravagant lives of the wealthy, the privilege they claim and the false sense of superiority they project. We are moved to assess the true nature of these characters. We acknowledge the duality of their characters; the part of themselves that are revealed to those around them and their true nature. The attempt

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